Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Bloodbath Walkthrough

Early on in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, two cities get attacked, and you can only defend one of them in person. The city you skip takes a beating as a result, and the companion from that city becomes Hardened.

Later on, you get the chance to start completing companion quests, helping them out with their issues to make them more useful. However, a few companion quests are important enough to become main story quests, and you have to complete them to proceed with the game. If you choose to protect Treviso earlier in the game, this quest is “The Cobbled Swan Case.” If you choose Minrathous, the mandatory companion quest is “Bloodbath.”

Where to Find Collectibles in Bloodbath

Whether it’s mandatory or optional, Bloodbath mostly plays out the same way. Start the quest by going to a location in the southeast of Treviso, in the Streets of Coin Financials area. There are plenty of chests and Mementos to collect while you’re approaching and exploring the chantry. Here’s where to start:

• Climb up the first ladder and open the large chest to your left.
• Exit through the broken window, then go around the boxes to the left. Break through the wooden boards, cross the balance beam, and look to the right for another large chest.
• Back outside, climb up the blue rooftop in the center of the area. There’s a Memento between the chimneys.

Follow the quest marker to continue. Illario shows up, surprising Lucanis. Say “Lucanis said no” for an approval bump. After the conversation, continue across the rooftops and take the ladder down to the chantry’s front courtyard.

• Go straight south from the ladder and take the stairs down and around. Break through the wooden boards to open a small chest.
• There’s a Memento next to the big gate in the southeast corner of the courtyard.
• Take the stairs up to the front door, but turn right instead to find a large chest. Next, go left from the door to pick up a small chest.

Go through the front door and run forward to fight a large group of Venatori led by Porcia (more on her and the other minibosses below).

• Check Porcia’s body to get an item.
• The southeast corner of this room holds a small chest.

You can continue by opening the door in the northeast corner, then interacting with the trick bookshelf. Doing so reveals a ladder. Go forward from the base of the ladder, then look to the right to spot a large chest in a cage.

This path eventually leads to an inner courtyard, where you’ll find more Venatori and Faustus.

• Like Porcia, Faustus also drops a chest.
• Head through the double doors into a prayer room. There’s a small chest directly ahead, through the door on the far side of the prayer room.
• The next miniboss fight is against Nonus and Decimus. The second to fall drops a chest.
• Head south from the fight to find a small chest.
• West of the chest are two rooms: one to the south, one to the north. The north room has a small chest inside.
• Enter the south room and climb the ladder. Use the broken window to cross to the north room’s second floor and deploy the ladder, then open the small chest on the north wall.
• Jump out of the broken window in the north wall to land next to a large chest. Open it, then jump over the railing to get back on the trail.

Once you return to the south room, Zara is only a hallway away.

How to Beat the Bloodbath Minibosses

As you make your way through the Fallen Chantry, you’ll encounter several of Zara’s lieutenants, Venatori cultists who look like normal enemies but have more health and special traits. Here’s what to expect from each one.

Porcia

Porcia is a Venatori mage with the traits Necrotic Imbued, Necromancer, and Rejuvenating. This means her barrier can come back if you don’t attack her for too long, and she can summon an armored undead warrior. She can only control one warrior at a time, but can summon a new one as soon as you destroy the existing one. Your best bet is to focus all your attention on her first, then mop up the other cultists when you’re done.

Faustus

Faustus is a Venatori warrior with Physical Imbued and Exploding. This makes physical attacks less effective, and every ten seconds or so, he damages a large area around himself. For this combat encounter, take out his supporting mages first, then try to keep Faustus at a distance using elemental ranged weapons.

Nonus and Decimus

These two are a pair of Venatori defenders. Nonus has Armor, Juggernaut, and Searing Tether, while Decimus has Frenzy, Glass Cannon, and Searing Tether. Juggernaut means Nonus is harder to knock down or break, plus he doesn’t have a Stagger bar. Frenzy and Glass Cannon combine to give Decimus more attacks and more damage, but without more health. Finally, the Searing Tether connects the two, and will damage Rook if you stand between them.

Because of his offensive combat traits, target Decimus first, and only worry about Nonus once he’s down. Like other shield enemies, you can get around their defense by using charged attacks, abilities, and using your companions to get their attention.

How to Beat Zara Renata

Zara behaves like an assassin enemy, which means she attacks fast and can parry non-charged attacks that come from straight ahead. Like other Venatori, she resists fire and is vulnerable to cold, and she has the Physical Imbued trait. However, she also has several unique conditions that make this fight more of a puzzle than a straight brawl.

• Zara doesn’t want to leave the blood pool. If you stay out of it, all she can do is attack you with her three-projectile move and teleport around.
• If you do enter the pool, her attacks include a blood nova, teleporting strikes, a long melee combo, and a drill charge.
• At three points during the fight, Zara will summon three Venatori minions. Two will attack Rook and their companions, while the third will stand in place and generate a barrier for Zara. As long as the generator is alive, Zara’s barrier will regenerate if you don’t hit her often enough. If you defeat every generator, Zara’s barrier will drop.
• Multiple minion waves can appear at the same time, so get rid of them as soon as they appear. Don’t worry about Zara until they’re all gone.

When Zara’s health drops to zero, her death takes place in a cutscene. A lot happens, and then Rook and Lucanis head back to the Lighthouse to discuss. Your rewards for this quest include 2,250 XP, armor for Lucanis, 400 gold, and +100 Antivan Crows Strength.